Android Thread: Phones / Apps / Mods

This is a discussion on Android Thread: Phones / Apps / Mods within Gadgets, Computers & Software, part of the Shifting gears category; Originally Posted by JMaruru
There might be some confusion here. I am speaking about ' Lenovo Vibe K5 Note (Grey, ...

(I'm a bit late responding, -- was away to a place without internet access, for a few days).

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Originally Posted by =JonSnow

.... You can find studies that show how staring at laptop/mobile/tablet screens affects your sleep pattern. "Night mode" is being introduced in most gadgets to reduce that impact by filtering out the blue light, but that may not fully mitigate it.

I am aware of some of those studies, There are myriad situations to consider for such studies, e.g. the particular kind of usage (out of so many possibilities on a laptop/smartphone/tab), the active/passive nature of it, and so on and so forth! You can't generalize findings of one kind of study to all situations, and there could be arguments on the other side as well. It's quite beyond the scope of this particular discussion here, and I don't believe they apply to my particular kind of usage anyway (please see below).

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An ebook reader like Kindle does not emit light and would any day be better for your eyes and for overall health.

This is based on what scientific logic, if I may ask? So what if a Kindle doesn't emit light ? What magic makes reflected light any better for the eye than "direct" light? I'd think it is the intensity that matters. For example, I find it is much easier on my eyes to look at the stars on a clear night sky, than at a bright moon! --- And I'd only proposed to create a situation not very dissimilar, -- reading ebooks by turning down the foreground intensity as much as practicable, taking advantage of the true-black background of an high-contrast AMOLED display (I have control over the foreground colour as well). --- A far cry from the scenarios all those studies had considered about the laptop/ mobile/ tablet screens, don't you think?

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Not for no reason e-readers are just a niche product now, with an overwhelming majority of ebooks read the world over on phones or tabs (and they are not just casual readers either).

Just because most people are doing it doesn't make it the right choice. People often choose convenience over health or other important factors.

Granted! But please don't overlook the possibility that for many of such people it is a considered choice, made after carefully looking at both pros and cons of the available options. I'm amazed how most e-reader proponents are unwilling to even consider the possibility that there just might be something in the other side's view, and phones/ tabs, used in a proper way, can be just as good as e-readers, if not better! For me they clearly are, and am yet to be convinced otherwise based on solid logic (no pseudo-science please).

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I did ask my own not-so-young eyes the same question over a span of more than five years while reading hundreds of ebooks (no pdfs) on a 3.2" TFT screen ... And my eyes told me, "do as you like, we don't care during daytime, but maybe try something a little better in darker rooms"!

A smoker might say that he has been smoking for 5, 10 or more years without feeling any impact. But that doesn't mean it's not affecting his health. Not saying that it's that bad but who knows what impact it could have over the long term.

Yeah, my eyes are already half-dead, -- only I don't know that yet (and nor does anybody else, for that matter)! I wish the field of science I spent my life in would accept arguments based on "who knows what impact it could have ..." !

As for the case of smoking, it is a long-known fact that the body of a smoker ingests scores of noxious chemicals (many of which are known carcinogens). I don't see how the two cases are even remotely comparable! In any case, for my particular usage, I don't see why it should be any more harmful to my eyes compared with myriad other situations we put our eyes through everyday!

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For me, another reason to prefer E-readers is that on a phone there will be contant distractions with emails, whatsapp messages or other app notifications. With an e-book reader, I can concentrate on the book without unnecessary distractions.

This is a frequently-mentioned "benefit" of an e-reader over a phone, and has to be one of the most ridiculous too! I fail to see what prevents the user from just turning off the notifications while in the e-reading mode (which might be something as simple as just invoking the flight mode)! It kind of points to the possibility that the user can't live without those notifications anyway. So, while reading on an e-reader, there is likely to be a phone lying by the side somewhere, just for those precious notifications! Of course, the e-reader itself can't be blamed for those "constant distractions" now. Brilliant !

[JonSnow, please don't take it personally. Your points are not unique, but rather commonly encountered. Please consider my views as a response to such. Thanks.]

Granted! But please don't overlook the possibility that for many of such people it is a considered choice, made after carefully looking at both pros and cons of the available options.

We don't know that. If you have considered the pros and cons then well and good. My point was just that we can't use the argument that a particular choice is good because everyone else is doing it.

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As for the case of smoking, it is a long-known fact that the body of a smoker ingests scores of noxious chemicals (many of which are known carcinogens). I don't see how the two cases are even remotely comparable!

Obviously not comparable. Just that most people are not even aware of how some things might be affecting their health in the long term. If you are taking precautions like reducing the brightness then it should be fine i guess.

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I fail to see what prevents the user from just turning off the notifications while in the e-reading mode (which might be something as simple as just invoking the flight mode)!

And miss out on important calls as well? We can ignore emails and WhatsApp notifications on a phone lying somewhere beside us, but we can't ignore notifications that pop up right on top of the screen that you are looking at. It is obviously a distraction from whatever you are reading.

... My point was just that we can't use the argument that a particular choice is good because everyone else is doing it.

Well, I don't think I ever used that argument! All I suggested was that one shouldn't ignore the possible reasons behind why and how phones/ tabs became the devices of choice for the majority for e-reading (&quot;Not for no reason e-readers are just a niche product now, with an overwhelming majority of ebooks read the world over on phones or tabs (and they are not just casual readers either).&quot.

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And miss out on important calls as well? We can ignore emails and WhatsApp notifications on a phone lying somewhere beside us, but we can't ignore notifications that pop up right on top of the screen that you are looking at. It is obviously a distraction from whatever you are reading.

I thought we were comparing e-readers to phones-used-as-e-readers! A smartphone is an incomparably more capable device compared to the one-trick-pony that an e-reader is. If you choose to take advantage of any other feature of a phone in addition to e-reading, you must be prepared to pay for it too! It can't be considered the phone's fault that you allow it to distract you while using it as an e-reader. Please compare apple-to-apple, -- use a phone as an e-reader alone, and it will not distract you! My point was just that they are at least as good at e-reading as e-readers. Only, I can use them for a million other things as well, if and when I so choose (of course, while being ready to pay for those capabilities as necessary).

at around 32k, OnePlus is testing if it can start charging higher pricing perhaps? Pixel made the job of these guys easier. What happens to OP 4? This was due in June/July - so in just 6 months there will be another one.